The best seasonal fundraising appeals use the timing of the appeal as a springboard to talk about the cause. Valentine's Day is a natural for domestic violence-focused nonprofits. Mother's Day is used by senior-serving agencies. Thanksgiving, of course, relates to food-related charities.

The connection can also be subtler: Back to school for a kids' shelter, or the advent of winter for a charity serving the homeless.

But what about something more fanciful, like April showers bring May flowers sparking an appeal focused on training young activists (an investment that will "bear fruit" in the future)?

Or Halloween providing the jumping off point for an ask based on the idea that "Halloween's supposed to be scary: Coming home every day from school should not be"?

Giving your fundraising activity (event, appeal, drive, campaign) a seasonal connection is powerful partly because it helps your fundraising drive "make sense" in the mind of the asker as well as donor. " Oh, that's why we have to give/ask now" they think, rather than " Why are they coming after me again?"

But while the end of your fiscal year can be a rallying cry for board members, it's not an external reason for giving. "Help us close the gap" doesn't sound too exciting, or too impactful, does it?

Giving should be forward-looking - focused on what the donors' contribution will help change in the world. Asking folks to "reimburse" your agency, in essence, for what's already been done, doesn't make someone sit forward in their seat.

A seasonal connection can give your donors something to grab onto. "Help us do what we've been stalwartly doing for the past 20 years" doesn't sound very compelling. Yet how many nonprofits tout their stellar history of service as a primary reason for their appeal? Sure, a donor needs to know the organization's not a fly-by-night production, but that should just be background. The difference your organization makes should be front and center.

Seasonal fundraising that highlights programming provides a persuasive "why" at the same time as it answers the question "why now." Referring to experiences we have in common - family gatherings at Thanksgiving, the promise of Spring - seasonal fundraising uses our shared cultural fabric to urge us to do better for those in need.

For 44 years, the Center for Anti-Violence Education (CAE) has run comprehensive violence prevention programs for individuals and organizations. Through a combination of education, physical empowerment, activism and leadership development, CAE works with marginalized communities to break cycles of violence. In 2013, CAE launched a new special event: " The PROM You Always Wanted," aimed at people who've been marginalized because of their sexual orientation or race or other differences and didn't go to their prom. This late-Spring event offers the opportunity to revel in a robust, diverse community.

The first year, Prom raised $30,000 from about 100 people; this year it raised almost $125,000 with 230 tickets sold. An active host committee sends out invitations, with many people returning year after year and bringing friends. Corporate sponsors accounted for $76,000 of this year's total, with sponsors often sending employees belonging to their Pride Network or other affinity group.

To ensure that CAE's mission isn't lost, the event contains a "Passbook" listing activities ranging from anti-violence Jeopardy, to a "break-a-board" sponsorship where attendees write the type of violence they want to eradicate on a wooden board that youth program participants smash through with their newly-gained karate skills. " I learned so much about what the organization is doing," one attendee told the executive director Loren Miller. " The Prom is our vision in action," explained Miller: " It's a dynamic, mixed group of people at a really special party that goes beyond inclusion to be a celebration of our differences."